Tennessee Williams' writing reflected his life. Part new and part old South, he lived in a contrasting world of brutishness fueled by ignorant pride and passionate indiscretions camouflaged by a genteel veneer. His compelling and controversial stories catapulted him to the forefront of American theater. Among his greatest successes was "A Streetcar Named Desire."

Blanche DuBois, fractured and lonely, is running away, in search of her own piece of post-World War II America. In New Orleans she finds her sister, Stella, living in a two-room apartment in a tired, noisy section of the French Quarter. She is shocked at her sister's contentment with a common life and marriage to a crude and often brutal man, Stanley Kowalski. To infuse Stella with guilt, Blanche recounts her lonely and agonizing vigil witnessing the death their parents and overseeing the loss of the ancestral plantation after Stella ran off. Upon meeting Blanche, Stanley is immediately suspicious of her motives and seeks details of her past. Blanche selfishly attempts to rescue Stella from the meaty grip of the territorial Stanley. The battle is on. The weapons are flirtation, lampooning, and in-your-face insults. We head for "this date... (we knew was coming) from the beginning."

Sara Gurfield's direction of Seacoast Repertory Theatre's production is a poignant portrayal of the confrontation in the Quarter. The performance is riveting and entertaining. Sets and lighting, designed by Jessica Kaplan and Aaron Hutto respectively, set the audience on the edge of a cramped tenement street and with a view inside a two-room apartment. A kaleidoscope light and the sound of streetcars and alley cats propel the action of the story.

The predatory Stanley's vengeful destruction of Blanche's self-preserving illusions, though, is incomplete. Where Debra Wiley's Blanche was sublime in the performance I saw, Colin Ryan's Stanley fell short. Wiley's Southern accent was soft and demure, letting us hear the cadence of Williams' poetry. Her emerging madness drips slowly like a delicate ice sculpture in full summer sun. Colin Ryan as Stanley never displayed the prowess of the territorial protectiveness his lines implied. His delivery was snide rather than combative, his movement was stiff, and he completely overlooked the sexual tension Blanche was blithely encouraging.

The two supporting characters are Blanche's sister Stella, played by Elizabeth Barry, and a quiet friend, Mitch, played by Josh Bressette. Barry is solid as she resists being drawn in by the rift between Stanley and her sister. My lower back twitched as her pregnancy progressed. Josh as the awkward and lonely bachelor is delightful. His wisp of a grin and self-conscious shuffle portray a man never sure he deserves what he desires; even his outbursts are punctuated with politeness.

The supporting cast puts on a solid performance. Susan Norris, Peter Dunbar and Coy Deluca provide a steady dose of levity and blue collar certitude, while Alex Nicholas, Tami Burns and Alan Jasper do well as the metaphors of Blanche's anxieties and desires.

For the Seacoast theatergoers, this is a must-see Williams production.

"A Streetcar Named Desire" runs through Nov. 28 at Seacoast Repertory Theatre, 125 Bow St., Portsmouth. Shows are Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 3 p.m. Ticket prices range from $22 to $33. Call 603-433-4472 or 800-639-7650 for more information.